Match Preview: Brentford B v Southampton U23

Brentford B take on Southampton Under-23s at Jersey Road at 2pm this afternoon, the last game of the side's pre-season campaign. The B Team have lost all five of their previous games so far, and are in search of a win to kick start their season, which begins on Monday afternoon against Luton Town.

Kevin O'Connor's team lost 1-0 to Oxford United Under-23s last week, beaten by a single free-kick in the second half. O'Connor was not pleased with his team's attitude, claiming he'd had stern words with the squad in the dressing room.

His full post-match summary is here:

The previous four games also saw defeat to Maidenhead United, Watford U23, Maidstone United and West Bromwich Albion U23.

Match Report: Brentford B 1 Southampton U23 2

Brentford B lost 2-1 to Southampton on Friday afternoon, Jarvis Edobor scoring the side's only goal in the first half.

The game kicked off at a sunny Jersey Road at 2pm, Kevin O'Connor including several squad members with First Team experience. Ellery Balcombe started in goal, with Mads Bech Sørensen in front of him beside Tom Field.

Justin Shaibu was also included up top and made an impact after six minutes. The forward collected the ball from Ali Coote and burst down the right wing. His cut back was cleared away for a corner, which almost landed on Shaibu's head but the goalkeeper got out to meet it.

A few minutes later, the referee indicated a stoppage after a Saints defender was left on the floor following a collision with the Bees' striker. He recovered after some treatment and the game resumed.

After 16 minutes, Shaibu was causing trouble again. This time he was caught on the edge of the box after trying to get past a Saints defender. The centre-back picked up a booking for his troubles. From the free-kick, Jaakko Oksanen swung the ball in and Edobor was waiting to pounce and slot the ball home into the bottom corner.

It continued to be all Brentford B in the opening half an hour of the first half. Kolbeinn Finnsson went close after 26 minutes. The Icelandic midfielder shot low at the far post after a Coote cross was missed by Shaibu. The keeper was able to get across to it and hold the ball.

Oksanen had another chance to give Brentford a further advantage with 37 minutes on the clock. A free-kick, this time closer to the box, was awarded to The Bees and he opted to go for goal. A swinging effort, the ball dipped over the wall but the goalkeeper was alert to it and parried it clear.

At the other end, The Saints created their first big chance from a set piece as well. In a similar position to Brentford's goal, they swung in a deep cross that almost found the head of a striker. Goalkeeper Balcombe was out smartly though, getting in the way of the cross and then seeing it clear.

After the break, two goals in quick succession had The Saints in control. First, a cross into the box was dropped by Balcombe and a forward managed to get on the end of it to tuck it home. Just five minutes later, a neat one-two on the edge of the box allowed the away side an easy finish from close range.

Tom Field was on hand to stop things from getting out of control. A cut back from the left wing landed directly at a striker's feet in the box but Field was across to block it bravely.

Kevin O'Connor introduced several changes as the game went on to try and alter his team's approach. Plus, the sun was taking its toll. One of the subs, Nikolaj Kirk came close when he hit a left-footed effort just over the crossbar

Joe Hardy came closest after 85 minutes, getting space and shooting high in the box. The goalkeeper got his wrist to the shot but then the follow up was put over by one of the home team's trialists.